spolia opima

American  

[spoh-lee-uh oh-pahy-muh, -pee-, spaw-li-ah aw-pee-mah] / ˈspoʊ li ə oʊˈpaɪ mə, -ˈpi-, ˈspɔ lɪˌɑ ɔˈpi mɑ /

plural noun

1. (in ancient Rome) the arms taken by a victorious general from the leader of a defeated army.

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Etymology

Origin of spolia opima

From Latin spolia opīma “rich spoils”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spolia opima

But Robin was hanged for abducting the heiress of Edenbelly, and Alan Breck escaped from James Mohr with the spolia opima, including ‘four snuff-boxes,’ made, perhaps, by Balhaldie himself. 

From Pickle the Spy; Or, the Incognito of Prince Charles by Andrew Lang

The farmer had the carcass at spolia opima, and paid for the fowl with a good grace.

From The Physiology of Taste by Fayette Robinson

These were her trophies, the spolia opima of the campaign.

From The Wings of the Morning by Louis Tracy

He unlocked his boat, and shoved off into the channel alone, rejoicing in the thought of the spolia opima he should expose next morning at the breakfast-table.

From The History of Margaret Catchpole A Suffolk Girl by Richard Cobbold

The few trophies, taken in the saddest moments of the action, were sent in triumph to the interior and paraded as the spolia opima in San Luis and the city of Mexico.

From Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2 A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time; With a View of the Ancient Aztec Empire and Civilization; A Historical Sketch of the Late War; And Notices of New Mexico and California by Brantz Mayer

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